JIBS STATEMENT OF EDITORIAL POLICY

The Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) is the top-ranked journal in the field of international business. The goal of JIBS is to publish insightful and influential research on international business.

JIBS welcomes submissions in any of the six sub-domains of international business studies: (1) the activities, strategies, structures and decision-making processes of multinational enterprises; (2) interactions between multinational enterprises and other actors, organizations, institutions, and markets; (3) the cross-border activities of firms (e.g., intrafirm trade, finance, investment, technology transfers, offshore services); (4) how the international environment (e.g., cultural, economic, legal, political) affects the activities, strategies, structures and decision-making processes of firms; (5) the international dimensions of organizational forms (e.g., strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions) and activities (e.g., entrepreneurship, knowledge-based competition, corporate governance); and (6) cross-country comparative studies of businesses, business processes and organizational behavior in different countries and environments.

JIBS seeks to publish manuscripts with cutting-edge research that breaks new ground, rather than merely making an incremental contribution to international business studies. Manuscripts should address real-world phenomena, problems or puzzles; build on relevant prior research to highlight what is interesting and different; and include a clear statement of their contribution to international business research. JIBS is particularly interested in publishing innovative papers that start up or redirect a line of inquiry, integrate across disciplines rather than being single disciplinary, and are multi-level (micro, meso and/or macro) rather than single-level studies. Theories whose central propositions are distinctively international are encouraged, as are theories where both dependent and independent variables are international. Manuscripts that provide different perspectives, often deliberately controversial or challenging to mainstream views, are welcome if they advance international business theory.

JIBS is an interdisciplinary journal that welcomes submissions from scholars in business disciplines (e.g., accounting, finance, management, marketing) and from other disciplines (e.g., economics, political science) if the manuscripts fall within the JIBS domain statement. JIBS is a methodologically pluralistic journal. Single-country studies are welcome as long as international business or one of its six sub-domains is the central focus of, and not peripheral to, the study. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies are both encouraged, as long as the studies are methodologically rigorous. Conceptual and theory-development papers, empirical hypothesis-testing papers, and case-based studies are all welcome. Mathematical modeling papers are welcome if the modeling is appropriate and the intuition explained carefully.

JIBS does not publish manuscripts about teaching materials/methods, literature reviews or manuscripts aimed solely at a practitioner audience. Manuscripts that make no theoretical contribution to international business studies (e.g., replication studies) or that have no specific relevance to the domain of international business studies should not be sent to JIBS. Empirical submissions that use undergraduate student samples, or that classify or rank journals or scholars along various dimensions, are usually discouraged.

Submissions to JIBS must follow the journal's Style Guide, including formatting, length and references. Poorly written or structured papers will be promptly returned to the authors.

More pages:
Information for contributors
JIBS Keyword list
JIBS Style Guide
JIBS Code of Ethics